Parents have been cautioned from moving their children from one school to another unnecessarily.
Kiambu Subcounty Director of Education Roselyn Litaba said some parents were ‘jumping’ with their children from school to school thereby making such learners disappear from the Education Ministry’s radar.
“Such parents are fond of jumping with their children from one school to another, a private school this term and a public one next term. The government is now catching you because there is a number a learner needs to move with, Nemis, which should be used by a child all through his learning,” Litaba said.
Litaba spoke during the SMART Kindergarten and primary school PP2 graduation ceremony in Juja, Kiambu County on Thursday.
She said most such parents move their children from previous schools to avoid clearing fees after accumulating arrears. They transfer the children to escape paying the fees.
“So, if you move your child from school to school, your child risks missing the Nemis number. The government therefore doesn’t know your child as a learner in Kenyan school. He can’t be planned for since he isn’t part of the planning once the name misses from Nemis,” Litaba said.
Litaba encouraged parents to develop a good rapport with the schools where their children learn.
She told them to always discuss with the respective school administrators possible fee payment plans instead of unnecessarily moving their children from school to school to evade fee payments.
She said this equally makes it challenging for a child to get an assessment number in Grade three.
“In order for KNEC to have the learners’ marks the assessment and Nemis numbers are important since CBC marks are continuous. All marks at Grades 4, and 6 will be counted to get final marks while completing primary school,” Litaba said.
The director said some Kiambu parents called her with complaints that they had moved children from schools in neighboring counties and didn’t know where they would sit their examinations.
She said such parents claimed teachers had rejected their children.
“I tell such parents to get to KNEC themselves for a solution. Those are the chaos you cause by jumping from school to school, stick in the school where your child is,” Litaba said.
No Summit Too High Foundation founder and mountaineer Dr. Faith Mwende told parents not to give up in life despite the hard economic times.
Mwende said resilience, patience, courage, God-fearing, discipline, and hard work are important for all to get through challenges and achieve life aspirations.
"To the teachers, we celebrate you too for nurturing these angels. May God bless you. Parents, thanks too for your sacrifice and commitment towards the children's education despite hard economic times," Mwende said.
She told parents and teachers to share their problems stating that a problem shared is half solved.
Mwende said there is no health without mental health. She encouraged them to take care of their mental health.
School director Michael Mwangi said the institution was established at the peak of Covid-19 in 2021.
“We have experienced rapid growth. Today we have 15 children graduating,” Mwangi said.
Mwangi said the need for starting the school was prompted by the fact that there was no public primary school within the area while the few available private ones were expensive and hence unaffordable to most residents.
"We are grateful that the parents we started with conceptualized our vision and have been consistent all along despite the challenges. The pioneering parents have stood with us through thick and thin," Mwangi said.
He said prudent management was necessary for success in the education sector.
He attributed the school's growth to good management, honesty, focus and love for the people, especially children.
The school is located in an area where the majority are either medium or low-income earners.
